Chanel

Lip of the Day: Chanel Virevoltante, Kate Spade Glasses and a Costco Optical Tip!

January 24th, 2020 by Karen 15 Comments

Costco Optical, man… Really impressed me. Good selection, fantastic prices.

Yup, I wore Chanel Virevoltante lipstick yesterday to get those Kate Spade frames I’ve been thinking about from Costco, woo-hoo! Costco is having a promotion, by the way, until January 28 where you can get a second pair of frames for $40 off, so I ended up also getting this clear pair by Via Spiga, which I’m going to use for prescription sunglasses…and I’m very excited about that! I’ve never had a pair of prescription sunglasses before. I feel so fancy. 🙂

The lipstick didn’t last through the ramen I had for lunch, though…

And that’s because opaque berry rose Virevoltante is in the Chanel Rouge Allure line, which is Chanel’s line of highly pigmented, lightweight lippies, which are relatively long lasting for a featherweight-feeling lipstick (seriously, sometimes I forget I have one on), but they’re nowhere near as resilient as a MAC liquid lipstick, by comparison, which you can wear from this lifetime into the next.

Virevoltante will last about three hours if you’re only trying on glasses or puttering around, but it’ll peace out if you start eating hot noodles.

It’s a popular star at the moment on account of how saturated it is. It’s INTENSE, but it still doesn’t creep into lip lines. I think it’s also comfy and moisturizing, to boot, and it makes my lips look so smooth. Love it!

Back to the glasses…

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Smokey Eyes, Smudged Sparkly Eyeliner, and Why Clean Tapered Blending Brushes Are Your BFF

January 23rd, 2020 by Karen 18 Comments

smokey eyes sparkly lashlines — Back in my happy place!

Can I get a whoop-whoop from all my kindred spirits out there? — the makeup lovers who love rubbing freshly washed air-dried brushes ever-so-gently across their face, and love the fresh scent of those baby soft bristles? (Side note: If this describes you, I bet you also like sticking your face in clean laundry when it comes out of the dryer, too!)

The reason you’re staring at this bevy of brushes is because I built a big-@ss pile of dirty brushes I’d been needing to wash since — gulp! — before Thanksgiving. Weeks ago, I tucked them away in a corner of my office and kinda forgot.

WHOOPS!

Well, I washed them yesterday because the bakery has been closed this week. Apparently, no one comes in this time of year because many people are still on their New Year’s diets, but folks start to fall off the wagon toward the end of January.

So…I finally had time to wash this big-@ss pile of brushes, and I also had time to do the makeup love of my life: SMOKEY EYES.

A few things…

I always forget what a difference clean tapered blending brushes can make. Just in case you don’t know what I’m talking about, this is what they look like:

tapered blending brush clean — It’s handy to have a few around.

Whenever I’m doing smokey looks, clean tapered blending brushes are very, very handy… At the very least, I like to keep two or three on deck. Having bristles that don’t have any eyeshadow on them is key because the clean brush hairs pick up/remove excess eyeshadow while also softening any hard edges, so everything looks that much smoother and more seamless.

Another thing? You’ll want to use the lightest touch while blending, and avoid pressing so hard that the bristles splay out (this just presses the powder into your pores, which makes it harder to sheer out your shadow). All you want is the very tip to lightly touch your lid.

smokey eyes tapered blending light touch — Please don’t smash your brush head into your crease.

smokey eyes sparkly lashlines unblended blneded — You know those pics of yourself online where you look crazy? YUP.

Last, but not least, always keep a clean tapered brush around for a last blending pass at the end. After you’ve done everything — base, blush, lips, the whole schebang — lightly blend your eyeshadow one last time, both on top of the lids and along the edges of the shadow to finalize the shape of your eye makeup.

It makes all the difference!

Makeup worn in this look

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A Monochromatic Multitasking Makeup Look

December 17th, 2019 by Karen 15 Comments

chanel amoureaux k — Lots of products doing double duty today

I’m playing with monochromatic multitasking makeup on this chilly Tuesday, partially because I like the alliteration in that phrase… 🙂 And partially because it totally fits with my current makeup motif, which currently involves me seeing what I can get away with given 10 minutes of prep time.

This one was unabashedly inspired by a recent monochromatic makeup post I saw on Instagram by my current makeup muse, Katie Jane Hughes, in which she uses a Chanel lippie on her lids as an eyeshadow, on her cheeks as a blush, and on her lips as a — GASP! — lipstick.

Mind you, I fully acknowledge that wearing lipstick on your lids is one of those things that isn’t everyone’s cup of hot cocoa, but my eyes have been fine whenever I’ve done it, so I’m OK with it.

Like KJH, I’m wearing Chanel in these pics — a Rouge Allure Ink in matte pinkish brown Amoureaux. It has a hint of coral in it.

The Chanel Rouge Allure Inks are more liquid than cream, so they’re runnier than a cream and have a thinner consistency. Consequently, when I used this one as a shadow here, I pressed it on my lids with a flat eyeshadow brush, in order to have more control over the placement. Then, I waited for it to dry before adding another layer.

When using it as a blush, I like to start with a little on the back of my hand first, which I then tap on the apples of my cheeks with a finger. I do this immediately after applying base, by the way, because it blends better when the base product is still wet and hasn’t set.

The base I’m wearing is also a multitasking monster — Maybelline’s awesome Instant Age Rewind Eraser Concealer. It also works great as a full-coverage foundation!

To sheer it out, just buff it down with a synthetic skunk brush spritzed with a makeup setting spray. I used Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mist to mellow out Instant Rewind’s matte finish (you know me and dewy skin, LOL).

chanel amoureaux — That may or may not be Connor’s bedroom wall behind me, ha ha ha.

charlotte tilbury filmstar bronze glow flatlay — Streamlined, baby

Makeup worn in this look

Eyes: Chanel Rouge Allure Ink in Amoreaux (lids) Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow (bronzer worn in the crease, highlighter in the inner corner and on brow bone), MAC Brun (liner and brows), IT Cosmetics Superhero Mascara (lashes)

Cheeks: Chanel Rouge Allure Ink in Amoreaux (as a blush blush), Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow

Lips: Chanel Rouge Allure Ink in Amoreaux

Base: Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser in Golden (worn as concealer and foundation)

And there we have it. 🙂

What are you up to today?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

5 Things I’ve Been Loving Lately

October 23rd, 2019 by Karen 21 Comments

three fall scents — Lovin’ these perfumes

1. These fall fragrances

Mind you, I don’t know if these three should be officially considered “fall scents,” but it is fall here now…and I have been rotating among these scents and lovin’ ’em.

Maison Francis Kurkdijian Femin Pluriel: A chypre floral with notes of iris, violet, rose, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley, orange blossom, vetiver and Indonesian patchouli leaf.
I like this one, and it doesn’t hurt that nobody else I know wears it.
MAC Shadescent in Creme d’Nude: This soft, clean amber musk is spiked with caramel, and it smells like clean, schmexy skin.
Chanel Coco Mademoiselle: An oriental floral with notes of mandarin orange, orange blossom, bergamot, jasmine, Turkish rose, ylang-ylang, vanilla, vetiver and white musk. This one’s a classic feminine “sweater weather” scent.

2. This funk version of Alicia Keys’ If I Ain’t Got You by Scary Pockets

Those runs are so crisp! Plus, how could you not love that name: “Scary Pockets?” LOL!

3. Vegetables

My sweet tooth GOES HARD, so 99% of the time I’m more likely to crave fruit than vegetables, but lately I’ve been all about the veggies. Literally, I’ve been eating plates and plates of them for lunch and dinner (not so much for breakfast though). My faves du jour right meow are the little bags of organic snap peas from Trader Joe’s.

Park me in a corner with a side of Bolthouse Salsa Ranch Yogurt Dressing, and I’M A HAPPY GIRL. 😁

bolthouse farm salsa ranch — So yummy… So healthy…

4. 1920’s-era dresses

Must be all the Downton Abbey I’ve been watching, LOL! I love the drop waists and how loose and comfortable everything looks. I also like the beading and the fringe (even if the fringe doesn’t look cat lady-friendly).

5. Having a cat place demands on me again

Every day, Pretty Girl Rosie opens up a little more and lets us get to know her better. This week we learned she’s quite feisty! Like, if she wants lurvies, and she wants them now, you’re GOING TO GIVE THEM TO HER. Or, there will be consequences…

She’s already claimed my desk and windowsill…

What’ve you been loving lately? 😊

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Chanel, You’re Rockin’ My World at the Moment!

July 10th, 2019 by Karen 4 Comments

chanel contour graphique — A little Chanel never hurt anyone.

Heya, friend. I’m sitting here at my desk with a rumbly tumbly because I’m waiting on an air conditioning specialist to stop by for an estimate. (Side note: Phase one of Operation Casa Mini Remodel is officially underway.) Two things I’ve learned so far about home remodels and home repair projects:

Anything that can break, will break, and surprise! — everything breaks at the same time.
Waiting on the people who can fix those broken things wreaks havoc on your lunch plans, because when someone says, “I’ll be there between 10 a.m. and noon,” that’s code for “I’ll ring your doorbell at 12:15.”

Anyway, yeah, I’m waiting on someone right now, and I’m hungry, but I don’t want to start making food because then I’ll have to eat it really fast, or wait and have it get cold, or awkwardly shovel a frozen breakfast burrito down my gullet in front of a stranger…

This is probably a good time to distract myself with one of my favorite things in the whole wide world: mascara.

I’ll gleefully try each and every new mascara that promises lusciously long lashes, but the one I’ve been loving lately is Dimensions de Chanel Mascara.

I got hooked on it last spring when Chanel introduced the shade Nero Metallo, a smoldering deep onyx (take a breath, it’s still available!).

chanel dimensions de chanel — Oh, hello lashes!

The bristle brush wand stretches the stubbiest strands up toward the sky, and one coat coaxes my skinny, straight lashes into a captivating curved fringe that could pass for a pair of falsies. And yes, it does all this without flakes, clumps, smudges or smears.

As for removal, an oil-based makeup remover takes it off in a snap.

I’ve been wearing it daily for a while (you may have noticed), and I can’t get enough.

I also can’t get enough of products that can be used for more than just one thing, because why not have an eyeshadow that doubles as an eyeliner? — which is exactly what you get with the Chanel Stylo Ombre et Contours. (I’m on a Chanel kick, as you can see.)

Twist-up cream shadows have been around forever, but it’s rare to find one that’s blend-adble enough to play with on your lids, and long-wearing enough to stay put on the waterline.
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